Drama as student attempts suicide

All was quiet last Tuesday at Bayero University, Kano (BUK) as students returned to their hostels. As they were relaxing, a drama started playing out in Hasiya Hall – a female hostel. Students ran out of the hostel, screaming “may God save us”.

Some of the students said one of the hostel’s occupants, Rukayat Suleiman, a 100-Level Accounting student, had committed suicide by taking overdose of a hard drug. Others claimed she attempted suicide due to her low Grade Point (GP) of 1.03.

When CAMPUSLIFE got to the scene, Rukayat was being taken to the school clinic by her roommates.

A 300-Level student, who claimed to witness the scenario, said: “I was in my room at Ramat Hall when I heard a deafening noise from Hasiya Hall. When I got out, I saw students rushing out of the hostel and shouting that a female student had committed suicide. They said she took overdose of some drugs because of her bad first semester results. Some people were also saying she got pregnant for a boyfriend, who had broken up with her. But when we got to her room, we saw her writhing in pain.”

CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the management, last week, released the students’ first semester results, which were generally poor. Majority of the students were affected by the development. Some departments even released results of 100-Level to 300-Level students.

A 200-Level student, who spoke with our correspondent, wondered what could lead to a situation when a student would attempt to commit suicide. “What example is she showing to those who are affected by the bad results released?” she asked.

Some students, who reside in Hasiya Hall, attributed the suicide attempt to unwanted pregnancy. One of them, 200-Level English, said Rukayat was staying with a male student throughout the semester break. “She was in her boyfriend’s house; she never went home during the semester break. When she confirmed she was pregnant for the boy, she decided to take her life,” she said.

Rukayat’s roommates declined to speak when contacted. When CAMPUSLIFE visited the clinic, our correspondent was not allowed to see her. But a nurse, who spoke on anonymity condition, said Rukayat was responding to treatment.